PROPECIAHELP: Persistent Finasteride Propecia Proscar side effects info & discussion forum

0) Where are you from (country)? Norway

1) How did you find this forum (Google search -- if so, what search terms? Via link from a forum or website -- if so, what page? Other?) Google

2) What is your current age, height, weight? 25, 1.83cm, 72kg

3) Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise? No, though my work is somewhat physical

4) What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)? Healthy.

5) Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)? Hair loss

6) For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? 7 months

7) How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride? 23, started Sept. 2010

8) How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? stopped March 2011

9) How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Cold turkey

10) What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic? Proscar

11) What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 1mg/day

12) How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? 7 months, quit right after

13) What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?

Put an X beside all that apply:

Sexual
[X] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[X] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Depression / Melancholy

Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[X] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[X] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[X] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / "Poo Pellets"
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature

[X] Other (please explain)
Varicocele

14) What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? Nothing

15) If you have pre or post-Finasteride bloodtests, what hormonal changes have you encountered since discontinuing the drug (pls post your test results in the "Blood Tests" section and link to them in your post)? Don't have them

16) Anything not listed in the above questions you'd like to share about your experience with Finasteride?

17) Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.

Well, I started taking it to combat hair loss, stopped after 7 months because of (sudden) erectile dysfunction. After I quit I've experienced the following symptoms:

- Low libido (don't quite get the same reaction from watching porn. I can still get hard, but it takes a little more effort than before. Rarely horny)
- Varicocele (gotten increasingly worse and more painful, thinking about surgery)
- Prostate pain/discomfort (whenever my bowels are full, my penis and nutsack look somewhat different (they contract and get numb in a way)
- Sometimes when I wake up after a night out, my genital area hurts like fuck.
- Penis generally more numb and different from before, nutsack looking a bit odd (probably due to the varicocele)

Took me a while to join this site and post this because I thought the symptoms would go away after a while (and sometimes they did, it was a roller coaster at times). I do have a sneaky suspicion that this may all be linked to my prostate, and that if I manage to get that little fucker sorted out everything will be fine, but some of you undoubtedly know more about this than I do.

I desperately need your help, because now I'm starting to get really worried that I'll never be the same as I was in terms of libido and overall genital function.

Although it may be hard to believe, you are actually better off than some guys here. Some of us can't get erections at all, or only get weak ones with extreme difficulty. Also, you seem to have been spared from the nasty mental side effects that a lot of guys get (brain fog and depression being but two). Finally, your symptoms come and go. A lot of guys on here have flat symptoms with no improvement or period of improvement.

All that said, this is still a shitty state to be in. Looking at your symptom list I think we are just about in the same boat, although I don't have the constant genital pain that you do. My symptoms also improve intermittently like yours. Your symptoms do seem to be prostate-related, so I would strongly recommend a prostate exam and other tests to check for prostatis. The broccoli treatment may also help you.

Hang in there man. I have a feeling that if we all get the word out and band together we can find a cure.

Thanks for your reply, and I agree that it does seem to be prostate-related.

I also want to say that I realize I'm better off than a lot of the guys on here, and it must be extraordinarily frustrating for them that almost no doctors believe them. I sympathize with you guys, and I hope you all get better soon. I had erectile dysfunction for two days (which is why I quit fin), and it was extremely scary, and I panicked completely, so no one is going to tell me that this shit doesn't f*ck people up.